Big Dipper, Loki Arthur China experience.

[SlowPower]

interesting how 2 people can have such different experiences. I never had such an easy time placing the ball in short game as I do with K3. and yes its epic in far from table too. Flicks on both wings over the table is easy too. I really wish this rubber wasnt this perfect for me as im told it wont last long. Considering its compared to the D09c and that D09c will last much longer I have decided to invest in the dignics now. Buying 4 sheets today. While on the sidelines ill try experiment with various chinese setups slowly over time hoping to find just as good setup for a fraction of the price.
But K3 so far is the best rubber I tried ever. Its now 1.5 months old. Ill clean it. protective sheets on it. taking good care hoping it will give me few more months of joy.

Thats exactly what I fell about K3 but didnt buy it again because its so expensive.
Didnt like D09c at all- by far not as easy to engage and play with compared to K3...

 

[Cadoia]

Thats exactly what I fell about K3 but didnt buy it again because its so expensive.
Didnt like D09c at all- by far not as easy to engage and play with compared to K3...

interesting. I just spend 320$ on 4 sheets haha.
I would love to hear what the difference was in experience between the K3 and 09c? its not easy to play with? in what ways?

 

[banbekas]

interesting how 2 people can have such different experiences. I never had such an easy time placing the ball in short game as I do with K3. and yes its epic in far from table too. Flicks on both wings over the table is easy too. I really wish this rubber wasnt this perfect for me as im told it wont last long. Considering its compared to the D09c and that D09c will last much longer I have decided to invest in the dignics now. Buying 4 sheets today. While on the sidelines ill try experiment with various chinese setups slowly over time hoping to find just as good setup for a fraction of the price.
But K3 so far is the best rubber I tried ever. Its now 1.5 months old. Ill clean it. protective sheets on it. taking good care hoping it will give me few more months of joy.

Even if K3 doesn't last as long as Dignics, you can always boost it for longer and long lasting performance. Should get you another 3-6 months. I was able to prolong the life of my Vega China for another year like that.

 

[SlowPower]

interesting. I just spend 320$ on 4 sheets haha.
I would love to hear what the difference was in experience between the K3 and 09c? its not easy to play with? in what ways?

For me the d09c feels harder and isnt as easy to engage. The arc feels longer and lower and I have to hit perfectly every time.
With the K3 cosistency is great and no matter what the ball lands somehow.
The rubber doesnt seem to change the trajectory suddenly but more smoothly. With the d09c the ball goes to the net when closing the bat a little more or you overshoot when opening a tiny bit too much. The perfect hitting zone seems to be smaller to me.
Also it is easier for me to give speed to the ball with the k3.

 

[Cadoia]

Even if K3 doesn't last as long as Dignics, you can always boost it for longer and long lasting performance. Should get you another 3-6 months. I was able to prolong the life of my Vega China for another year like that.

did you try boost the k3? I heard some rubbers dont respond to boosting.

 

[Cadoia]

For me the d09c feels harder and isnt as easy to engage. The arc feels longer and lower and I have to hit perfectly every time.
With the K3 cosistency is great and no matter what the ball lands somehow.
The rubber doesnt seem to change the trajectory suddenly but more smoothly. With the d09c the ball goes to the net when closing the bat a little more or you overshoot when opening a tiny bit too much. The perfect hitting zone seems to be smaller to me.
Also it is easier for me to give speed to the ball with the k3.

ah ok. I see.
This is exactly what I would have said about playing the k3 the first 2-3 weeks or so. but then I got used to it and I found a connection to the rubber that is now there. But it was overwhelming at first.
How long did you play the 09c?

 

[banbekas]

did you try boost the k3? I heard some rubbers dont respond to boosting.

I've never tried K3 but I assume it should be similar to other tensor rubbers. I've played with Vega China and loved it. Once I felt the rubber was losing the bite, I boosted it with a layer or FTL. I boosted it every 3 months and was able to use it for a year. It's very robust despite repeated boosting. I think K3 should be rather similar.

 

[Cadoia]

I've never tried K3 but I assume it should be similar to other tensor rubbers. I've played with Vega China and loved it. Once I felt the rubber was losing the bite, I boosted it with a layer or FTL. I boosted it every 3 months and was able to use it for a year. It's very robust despite repeated boosting. I think K3 should be rather similar.

so I never boosted before in my life. besides speed does boosting also affect spin capacity somehow?
I would assume k3 loose some of its spin potency over time as well right?
I just received some Haifu Seamoon booster. first time user. should do the trick too right?

 

[banbekas]

so I never boosted before in my life. besides speed does boosting also affect spin capacity somehow?
I would assume k3 loose some of its spin potency over time as well right?
I just received some Haifu Seamoon booster. first time user. should do the trick too right?

Yes it's like your rubber gets its second chance to live🤪
Of course, no rubber keeps its performance forever. Haifu is good too. Try it and see if you like it.
Try Vega China if you can get you hands on it. Superb rubber.

 

[Cadoia]

Yes it's like your rubber gets its second chance to live🤪
Of course, no rubber keeps its performance forever. Haifu is good too. Try it and see if you like it.
Try Vega China if you can get you hands on it. Superb rubber.

I just spend 320$ on 4x D09c so I will put a hold on buying new rubbers(except cheap chinese ones maybe) for the time being.
In the meantime the K3 is still alive so far. its been 2 months now. It lost some tackiness first month and I think some top players cant live with the slight difference it makes in play. But to me its actually perfect the way it is now. I play better than ever these days with the k3. when it starts to slow down or not grip the ball same way as now, ill do the booster.
Brings up another question: has anyone tried boosting Dignics 09c at the end of its life too?

 

[TheProfessor]

interesting how 2 people can have such different experiences. I never had such an easy time placing the ball in short game as I do with K3. and yes its epic in far from table too. Flicks on both wings over the table is easy too. I really wish this rubber wasnt this perfect for me as im told it wont last long. Considering its compared to the D09c and that D09c will last much longer I have decided to invest in the dignics now. Buying 4 sheets today. While on the sidelines ill try experiment with various chinese setups slowly over time hoping to find just as good setup for a fraction of the price.
But K3 so far is the best rubber I tried ever. Its now 1.5 months old. Ill clean it. protective sheets on it. taking good care hoping it will give me few more months of joy.

would like to know how long it'll last you

 

[Cadoia]

would like to know how long it'll last you

its 2 months old right now. my guess is 1-2 months more then its dead according to others.

 

[_ak]

Loki Arthur China can take some time to break in.
It can last very long,

sounds very cumbersome for any kind of competitive play. Okay for messing around though.

 

[Attitude]

sounds very cumbersome for any kind of competitive play. Okay for messing around though.

Well for esn like rubbers or butterfly etc it is the other way around. They play better right out of the package but play already different round about a month later.

I usually need around 1-2 weeks to break in the rubbers. And the difference is not that big. You usually can play the same. The feeling and accessibility to speed is easier afterwards.

Because i mostly used lac on bh i couldnt even make out the difference.

 

[_ak]

And the difference is not that big

I feel it quite well and the effect is much more noticeable than with any ESN within a week, especially when vary power.
I hate slow rubbers on BH and here I stick to tensors that I can replace at any moment and play immediately.

 

[banbekas]

Well for esn like rubbers or butterfly etc it is the other way around. They play better right out of the package but play already different round about a month later.

I usually need around 1-2 weeks to break in the rubbers. And the difference is not that big. You usually can play the same. The feeling and accessibility to speed is easier afterwards.

Because i mostly used lac on bh i couldnt even make out the difference.

Interesting. So, these rubbers that take time to break in is getting better the more we used them? They don't experience degradation in quality instead they got better. People should copy this technology.

As for me, I think the term breaking in is more like the tack is slowly disappearing and the degradation of the sponge and tosheet actually makes them softer and easier to use. That's why we use booster to speed up the break in.

 

[_ak]

Thus we need "factory pre-broken" technology

 

[Attitude]

Interesting. So, these rubbers that take time to break in is getting better the more we used them? They don't experience degradation in quality instead they got better. People should copy this technology.

As for me, I think the term breaking in is more like the tack is slowly disappearing and the degradation of the sponge and tosheet actually makes them softer and easier to use. That's why we use booster to speed up the break in.

One doesnt count the other out. Ofc chinese rubbers oxidise and degradate like any other especially boosted ones. But it is different. While people who play with tensor rubbers experience some change in their trampoline effect and overall speed and grip, chinese rubbers tend to get a little bit better over some duration and keep their characteristics longer.

But either way the differences are minor and at least for me arent a game changer. I never said after two weeks, damn thats one fast R9 or whatever.

And no my current rubbers dont lose their tack in that duration. There are other threads in which this breaking in got analyzed a bit more.

 

[Grumms]

I started my journey through AliExpress rubbers with Bid Dipper in FH and loved it. I was used to ESN very bumpy rubbers, but I got used pretty quickly to the hardness (38° announced, measured @47° Shure-C-Durometer) of the Big Dipper. It was glued on a Stuor Long 5, and I played intensively with it for 4 weeks. Then I tried the Arthur China, 40° announced, measured @46,5°. It has not been so different. I tested the rubbers just after ending a 13 years long hiatus with table tennis. So my learning curve made me play much better every month, making it very hard to have a definitive opinion about both of the rubbers.

Anyway, both were unboosted, in FH, on Stuor Long V and it allowed me to be way better in the short games, and massively better at flipping. The stickyness allows you to lift even short backspinned balls to the point I made more winning flips in 3 months than in my first 20 years of playing.

I found the Moon 12 M+ pretty close, but non sticky, which eliminates it from my choice for FH (maybe worth being used in BH instead of my Gewo 38°).

Yinhe Jupiter 3 is identical in every way to the Bid Dipper, except a lower speed (that's why I use Jupiter 3 on faster blades, like Stuor Nobilis or Yinhe 01).

I think I'll stick to the Arthur China for next season, but I have 2 Bid Dipper that will beg to be used !

Edit : I also tested Bloom Power, but hated it, Hardness measured @52.5°, I could not get anything from it with my FH.

 

[Cadoia]

I started my journey through AliExpress rubbers with Bid Dipper in FH and loved it. I was used to ESN very bumpy rubbers, but I got used pretty quickly to the hardness (38° announced, measured @47° Shure-C-Durometer) of the Big Dipper. It was glued on a Stuor Long 5, and I played intensively with it for 4 weeks. Then I tried the Arthur China, 40° announced, measured @46,5°. It has not been so different. I tested the rubbers just after ending a 13 years long hiatus with table tennis. So my learning curve made me play much better every month, making it very hard to have a definitive opinion about both of the rubbers.

Anyway, both were unboosted, in FH, on Stuor Long V and it allowed me to be way better in the short games, and massively better at flipping. The stickyness allows you to lift even short backspinned balls to the point I made more winning flips in 3 months than in my first 20 years of playing.

I found the Moon 12 M+ pretty close, but non sticky, which eliminates it from my choice for FH (maybe worth being used in BH instead of my Gewo 38°).

Yinhe Jupiter 3 is identical in every way to the Bid Dipper, except a lower speed (that's why I use Jupiter 3 on faster blades, like Stuor Nobilis or Yinhe 01).

I think I'll stick to the Arthur China for next season, but I have 2 Bid Dipper that will beg to be used !

Edit : I also tested Bloom Power, but hated it, Hardness measured @52.5°, I could not get anything from it with my FH.

I tried these rubbers too thanks to Tensorbackhand's recommendations.
I highly recommend you to try out the Loki GTX pro in boosted state. its even better than the rubbers you mentioned if you ask me. Was my favorite of the cheap chinese ones.